uncatalogcd 

M Zr^Sf  5 


625.13 

N33a 

1916 


ADDRESS 

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THE  CHESAPEAKE  AND  OHIO 
RAILWAY 

By 

James  Poyntz  Nelson 


U,  OF  ILL  LIB. 


« 


UNIVERSITY  OF 
ILLINOIS  LIBRARY 
AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 

BOOKSTACKS 


ADDRESS 


THE  CHESAPEAKE  AND  OHIO  RAILWAY 

The  Realization  of  the  Dream  of  George  Washington, 
the  Surveyor  on  the  Banks  of  the  Kanawha. 


“Your  old  men  shall  dream  dreams, 
and  your  young  men  shall  see  visions.” 
(Joel  II,  28.) 


Delivered  b? 

JAMES  POYNTZ  NELSON. 

Member  Valuation  Committee,  The  Chesapeake  & Ohio  Railway  Co. 
Member  Land  Committee  of  the  President’s  Conference  Committee. 


Before  the 

Railway  Men’s  Improvement  Society, 

New  York  City,  January  27,  1916. 


Second  Edition. 


MITCHELL  & HOTCHKISS. 
PRINTERS. 
RICHMOND,  VA. 


S CT  fX&h 


L,zf./3 

// 53a 

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The  Realization  of  the  Dream  of  George  Washington, 
The  Surveyor  on  the  Banks  of  the  Kanawha. 


The  nineteenth  day  of  July,  1869,  a party  of  Engineers, 
under  Major  Channing  Moore  Bolton,  left  Richmond,  Vir- 
ginia, to  undertake  the  location  of  the  extension  of  the  Chesa- 
peake & Ohio  Railroad  westward.  Our  Division  extended 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Greenbrier  River,  where  it  enters  the 
New  River,  down  New  River  about  forty-two  miles,  to  Bow- 
yer’s  Ferry,  now  Sewell  Station.  Thus  my  touch  with  the  life 
of  this  great  System  began  one  month  after  I had  received  my 
two  Engineering  Degrees  at  Washington  College,  now  Wash- 
ington & Lee  University,  and  has  continued  to  this  time.  There 
have  been  breaks  in  this  touch,  but,  when  I think  of  myself,  I 
must  think  ever  of  this  Railroad  to  whose  service  I have  given 
my  best  years.  When,  after  an  absence,  I returned  to  this  ser- 
vice, I came  back  as  one  coming  home  again. 

The  growth  of  this  Road  from  an  iron-laid  line  of  about  227 
miles  in  1869,  then  not  completed,  to  its  present  place  of  honor, 
shoulder  to  shoulder  with  the  other  great  Public  Carriers  of  our 
Country,  is  to  me  as  a dream.  Its  mileage  has  been  multiplied 
by  ten.  Its  service  to  the  people,  to  serve  whom  is  its  duty, 
has  been  so  increased  that  it  is  as  a wide-spreading  tree,  the 
child  of  the  little  mustard  seed,  and  under  its  branches  are 
sheltered  great  industries,  many  people.  It  is  as  to  something, 
not  all,  of  this  great  growth,  that  I speak  tonight.  It  is  of  this 
as  the  realization  of  the  dream  of  the  men  now  called  Fathers 
«\of  our  Nation,  that  I speak.  Although  I must  deal  in  facts 
possibly  dry  to  some  of  you,  yet  my  theme  might  well  challenge 
the  imagination  and  the  pen  of  an  Epic  Poet. 

Doubtless  this  story  is  not  unique.  Elsewhere  Engineers, 
and  their  bold  associates,  have  been  the  vanguard  of  Progress, 
Elsewhere  they  have  met  and  endured  hardships  and  dangers 
not  nominated  in  the  statement  of  their  accounts.  Elsewhere 


4 


ADDRESS. 


have  been  silent,  unseen  heroes  who  laid  the  line,  tore  down 
forbidding  hills  and  mountains,  harnessed  mighty  torrents, 
built  monuments  to  those  whose  names  are  not  carved,  if  carved 
at  all,  except  on  some  simple,  voiceless  slab  in  the  City  of  the 
Dead. 

But  before  Agamemnon  was,  were  heroes,  who  perished  be- 
cause they  had  no  Homer. 


“ Vixere  fortes  ante  Agamemnona, 

Multi;  sed  omnes  illacrimabiles , 

TJrgentur  ignotique  longa 
Node,  carent  quia  vate  sacro." 

Before  lived  Agamemnon, 

Many  brave  have  lived; 

Tho’  men  of  action,  all  unwept,  unknown,  they  sleep, 
In  the  long  night, 

Wanting  a sacred  singer. 

(Horace:  Odes.  Bk.  IV,  Ode  9:  Line  25.) 


Out  of  what  meagre  clay  moulded  Homer  his  deathless 
figures,  we  shall  never  know.  It  is  the  Poet  who  makes  us  im- 
mortal, not  our  deeds.  With  a silence  almost  contemptuous  the 
Pyramids  meet  our  questions,  and  point  us  for  answer  to  the 
Sphinx.  Therefore,  tonight,  as  I try  in  my  way,  all  too  weak, 
to  tell  my  story,  I beg  you  to  let  your  imagination  bring  here 
with  me  those  splendid  fellows,  my  once  companions  in  some 
hardships,  and  some  dangers,  dear  friends  now  gone,  whose 
story  is  a large  part  of  the  story  that  I must  tell. 

I feel  their  presence,  even  as  I see  yours. 

“But  we  cannot  tarry  here, 

We  must  march,  my  darlings,  we  must  bear  the  brunt  of  danger, 

We  the  youthful,  sinewy  races,  all  the  rest  on  us  depend, 
Pioneers!  O,  Pioneers! 


“All  the  past  we  leave  behind, 

We  debouch  upon  a newer,  mightier  world,  varied  world, 
Fresh  and  strong  the  world  we  seize,  world  of  labour  and  the  march, 
Pioneers!  O,  Pioneers!” 

(Walt  Whitman. — “Pioneers!  O,  Pioneers!”) 


THE  CHESAPEAKE  AND  OHIO  RAILWAY  COMPANY. 


5 


I 

The  Chesapeake  & Ohio  Railway  stretches  its  System  from 
Norfolk,  Virginia,  and  Fortress  Monroe,  to  Hammond,  on  the 
dividing  line  between  Indiana  and  Illinois.  At  Newport  News, 
Virginia,  at  the  mouth  of  the  James  River,  is  its  splendid  Port. 
Here,  with  modern  facilities,  are  handled  its  vast  outbound 
traffic  of  coat  and  merchandise,  and  its  inbound  shipments  for 
a Nation’s  needs.  Thence  its  line  threads  its  way  through  the 
historic  Peninsula  of  Virginia,  a narrow  neck  of  land,  bounded 
south  by  the  James  River,  and  north  by  that  beautiful  stream, 
the  York  River,  an  estuary  in  fact. 

The  history  of  Virginia,  the  story  of  our  Nation,  begins  with 
Old  Point  Comfort,  Cape  Henry,  the  old  City  of  Williamsburg, 
where  sat  the  House  of  Burgesses  that  declared  for  Independ- 
ence, and  William  & Mary  College,  the  second  oldest  College 
in  our  Country. 

On  York  River,  four  miles  away,  is  York  Town,  where  yet 
remain  the  battlements,  the  walls,  that  could  not  protect  Corn- 
wallis. Seven  miles  from  Williamsburg  is  James  Town  Island, 
on  the  James,  where  can  be  traced  the  homes  of  the  ancient 
Capital  of  the  Old  Dominion. 

From  Old  Point  to  Richmond  it  is  the  Battle  Ground  of  two 
wars.  Here  England  met  its  final  defeat.  Here  our  Liberty  was 
determined.  Here,  later,  great  Armies  fought  in  1862. 

“The  place  whereon  thou  standest  is  holy  ground.” 

Two  lines  of  track  bear  the  burden  of  traffic  from  Richmond 
to  Clifton  Forge,  on  the  Jackson’s  River,  the  beginning  of  the 
James,  a distance  of  nearly  200  miles.  The  first  line  built  was 
the  northern  one,  that  passes,  by  tunnels,  through  the  Blue 
Ridge  Mountains  and  the  Alleghanies,  crossing  the  head  of  the 
Shenandoah  Valley,  with  a maximum  grade  each  way  of  80 
feet  to  the  mile. 

The  southern  line  follows  the  banks  of  James  River,  sup- 
planting the  old  James  River  & Kanawha  Canal,  using,  at 
times,  what  was  the  Tow  Path.  This  is  the  low,  water-grade 
line  along  which  goes  the  heavy  traffic  of  coal  and  merchandise. 

Thus  is  linked  together  the  story  of  the  Canal  and  the  his- 
tory of  our  System. 


6 


ADDRESS. 


Westward  from  Clifton  Forge  we  climb  the  Alleghanies,  to 
the  dividing  line  between  Virginia,  and  its  stolen,  but  lusty, 
child,  West  Virginia.  Thence  we  go  down  the  Greenbrier  River 
to  its  junction  with  New  River,  noting  along  New  River  busy 
branches  that  extend  into  the  region  of  the  soft,  coking,  steam 
coals,  passing  also  on  New  River  the  busy  tipples  that  serve 
the  drift  mines. 

Through  the  Canyon  of  New  River  we  go,  until  the  Great 
Conglomerate  that  towered  at  times  a thousand  feet  above  us 
has  dipped  to  form  the  Falls  of  the  Great  Kanawha,  a continu- 
ation, in  fact,  of  New  River,  now,  under  its  own  name,  “Beau- 
tiful River  of  the  Woods,”  to  thread  its  quiet  way  along  fertile 
valleys,  through  the  region  of  the  Splint  Coals  of  the  Upper 
Measures,  to  its  bridal  with  the  Ohio  at  Point  Pleasant. 

From  our  line  along  the  Kanawha  go  branches  south  and 
north,  into  regions  of  seemingly  exhaustless  Coals  and  abundant 
Forests.  Coal  River,  and  its  branches,  the  Guyandot  River, 
and  its  branches,  and  other  confluent  streams,  all  send  down  to 
the  main  line  their  products  in  a stream  almost  as  ceaseless  as 
the  flow  of  their  waters. 

Leaving  the  Kanawha  at  the  mouth  of  Coal  River,  we  cross 
“Teay’s  Valley,”  about  thirty  miles,  to  the  Guyandot  River, 
and,  thence,  ten  miles  to  the  City  of  Huntington,  on  the  Ohio 
River.  Here  was  begun  in  1871  the  City  that  bears  the  name 
of  its  founder,  Collis  P.  Huntington,  the  builder  of  Cities,  he, 
too,  a dreamer  of  great  dreams. 

A short  distance  more,  and  we  cross  the  Big  Sandy  River  into 
Kentucky.  Turning,  for  a moment,  up  the  Sandy,  we  see  our 
Big  Sandy  Line,  134  miles  long,  that  takes  us  into  the  great 
Elkhom  Coal  region,  famous  because  of  the  fine  quality  and 
the  vast  extent  of  its  coal,  rivalling  the  Connellsville  region. 

It  would  please  me  could  I take  you  with  me  “Up  Sandy.” 
I know  its  territory,  know  its  people,  rugged,  brave,  shrewd, 
sometimes  a law  unto  themselves,  but  loyal  as  friends,  even  as 
they  are  hostile  to  the  contemner  of  their  rights.  I am  their 
grateful  debtor  for  kindness  and  hospitality,  loyal  friendship, 
when  most  needed.  To  the  Kentuckian  of  Big  Sandy  I pay 
this  passing  tribute  of  affection  and  admiration.  But  I must 
hasten  on. 


THE  CHESAPEAKE  AND  OHIO  RAILWAY  COMPANY. 


7 


Leaving  the  Big  Sandy,  we  go  on  down  the  Ohio  River  to  Cin- 
cinnati. Between  the  Big  Sandy  and  Huntington  we  crossed 
Four  Pole  Creek,  and  Twelve  Pole  Creek,  so  named  by  the 
young  Surveyor,  George  Washington.  Seven  miles  below  Big 
Sandy,  is  Ashland,  Kentucky,  whence  goes  off  our  Branch  to 
Lexington  and  Louisville,  Kentucky,  in  the  heart  of  the  Blue 
Gtass,  on  the  crest  of  the  Cincinnati  Arch,  made  fertile  by  the 
uplift  of  the  soft,  Trenton  Lime  Stone,  a thousand  feet  above 
the  Sea.  Here  I should  love  to  tarry  with  you,  because  that  is 
my  home. 

Crossing  the  Ohio  River  at  Cincinnati,  we  are  on  our  Chesa- 
peake & Ohio  of  Indiana,  a separate  Corporation,  but  part  of 
our  System,  carrying  us  into  Chicago  by  trackage  rights  over 
other  lines,  from  the  Indiana  border  line  at  Hammond. 

Behind  us  we  have  left  scenery  worthy  of  the  canvas  of  the 
Artist.  We  have  passed  through  thriving  Cities,  people  who 
labor  with  splendid  industry  for  the  uplifting  of  our  Nation. 
Lovers  of  Peace,  they  did  not  fail  to  answer  with  magnificent 
courage,  and  self-abnegation  the  stem  call  to  arms.  Divided 
for  a time  from  those  now  their  brothers,  battling  for  what  was 
to  them  a sacred  duty,  they  stand  today  united  as  a Nation, 
ever  lovers  of  Liberty,  ever  loyal  to  their  faith,  expecting  and 
demanding  the  sanctity  of  our  Flag,  hostile  to  no  other  Nation, 
and  fearing  none. 

Had  time  permitted,  we  could  have  rested  at  some  of  the 
beautiful  places  where  flow  waters  famed  for  their  healing 
powers.  Nestled  in  the  Warm  Spring’s  Valley  at  the  end  of  the 
Branch  line  that  takes  us  25  miles  up  the  Jackson’s  River,  are 
the  Hot  Springs,  with  the  delightful  Homestead  Hotel. 

Just  within  West  Virginia  is  the  classic  White  Sulphur 
Springs,  historic,  because  here  gathered  year  by  year  such  men 
as  Henry  Clay  and  his  associates,  and  here  linger  fine  traditions 
of  fair  women  and  gallant  fellows,  who  wrote  of  themselves  im- 
memorial tales  when  the  nights  were  Ambrosial.  Then  they 
came  only  under  summer  skies.  But,  today,  with  generous 
hand,  the  Chesapeake  & Ohio,  owner  of  a large  area  of  land, 
has  provided  the  luxurious  Greenbrier  Hotel,  where  each  month 
rest  and  healing  can  be  found,  and  the  marvelous  beauty  of  the 
place  can  be  enjoyed. 


8 


ADDRESS. 


From  Newport  News  and  Fortress  Monroe  to  Richmond  we 
have  gone  over  a line  of  double  track,  85  miles,  its  condition,  as 
elsewhere  on  our  System,  one  hundred  per  cent.,  beyond  re- 
proach. A single  track,  well  seasoned  by  long  use,  covers  the 
northern,  older  route  from  Richmond  to  Clifton  Forge.  Up 
James  River  are  stretches  of  double  track.  From  Clifton  Forge 
to  Cincinnati,  489  miles,  is  a double  track,  excepting  a few, 
short  Gauntlets. 

As  of  June  30th,  1915,  rail  100-lbs.  a yard  covered  534  miles 
of  First  Track,  and  529  miles  of  Second  Track.  The  entire 
length  of  all  tracks  covered  by  this  weight  of  rail,  inclusive  of 
Branch  Lines,  was  952  miles.  Today,  rail  of  125-lbs.  a yard  will 
replace,  experimentally,  some  stretches  of  lighter  rail  to  meet 
the  heavy  traffic. 

As  of  the  same  date,  of  the  total  mileage  of  2625  miles  of 
main  tracks,  first  and  second,  and  Branch  Lines,  nearly  2000 
miles  were  laid  with  Stone  or  Slag  Ballast,  the  remainder  cov- 
ered by  other  material. 

We  have  seen  equipment  of  the  most  modern  types,  Mallet 
Engines,  Mikadoes,  Shay-Geared,  Consolidation;  Steel  Cars, 
Freight  and  Passenger,  and  the  well-known  “Yellow  Trains” 
de  luxe , the  “F.  F.  V’s,”  that  enter  daily  the  Pennsylvania 
Station  here,  through  from  Cincinnati  and  Louisville. 

Long  trains  burdened  with  Products  of  Mines,  Forests,  and 
other  industries  have  lined  our  way. 

We  have  seen  nearly  2200  miles  of  operated  line,  of  which 
over  2100  miles  are  owned  directly  by  our  System,  the  re- 
mainder leased.  Besides  this  are  more  than  200  miles  of  line 
over  which  our  trains  go  under  generous  trackage  rights.  Add 
to  this  our  second  track,  side-tracks,  and  tracks  jointly  used, 
and  we  have  spread  before  us,  used  for  Public  Carrier  purposes, 
a total  trackage  of  nearly  4000  miles,  all  serving  the  great  needs 
of  great  industries,  thriving  communities,  regions  whose  pro- 
ducts even  the  far  future  will  call  inexhaustible. 

Going  west  with  the  freight  traffic  by  the  low  grade,  James 
River  Line,  we  here  meet,  as  we  pass  from  Jackson’s  River  to 
the  Alleghany  summit,  a single  maximum  adverse  grade  of  60 
feet  to  the  mile. 


THE  CHESAPEAKE  AND  OHIO  RAILWAY  COMPANY. 


9 


On  the  northern  route,  over  the  old  Blue  Ridge  line,  our  fast, 
through  Passengers,  with  their  great  locomotives,  easily  go  up 
from  the  beautiful  Piedmont  region,  along  the  slope  of  the  Blue 
Ridge,  over  a maximum  grade  of  75  feet  to  the  mile,  to  the 
Summit  at  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  Valley  of  Virginia. 

Crossing  this  Valley,  verily  a land  of  the  fairest  beauty,  to  its 
western  wall,  the  North  Mountain,  our  trains  move  swiftly  to 
the  Summit  over  a maximum  grade  of  80  feet  to  the  mile. 

Turning  eastward  with  our  heavy  traffic  on  its  way  to  Tide- 
water, our  maximum  adverse  grade  for  about  15  miles  is  only 
30  feet  to  the  mile  as  we  go  from  the  Greenbrier  to  White  Sul- 
phur Springs,  near  to  the  Alleghany  Summit. 

On  the  plains  and  hills  high  above  the  main  line,  are  the  mines 
whose  coal  goes  all  the  time  down  grade  to  the  assembling 
yards  on  New  River,  the  Kanawha,  Coal  River,  the  Guyandot, 
the  Big  Sandy,  and  other  tributary  waters. 

Thus  our  System  challenges  comparison,  as  to  grades,  with 
its  friendly  companions  and  competitors,  who  must  cross  the 
Appalachians  from  the  Ohio  waters  to  the  sea  by  heavier  grades. 

To  meet  the  pressing  demands  for  its  own  way  to  the  Lakes, 
our  System  is  building  to  Columbus,  Ohio,  from  a point  on  the 
Ohio  River  just  above  Portsmouth,  at  Sciotoville,  a line  under 
the  name  of  The  Chesapeake  & Ohio  Northern.  This  line  will 
meet  at  Columbus,  The  Hocking  Valley  Railway,  owned  by 
this  System,  which  thus  will  secure  its  own  direct  line  from 
Newport  News  to  Toledo.  The  congestion  of  traffic  at  Cin- 
cinnati is  well  known.  There  the  restrictions  upon  all  Car- 
riers are  unbearable.  From  this  hindrance  to  our  traffic,  our 
new  line  will  liberate  us. 

The  Bridge  across  the  Ohio  River  is  1550  feet  long,  approached 
by  two  viaducts,  823  feet  long  on  the  Ohio  side,  and  1063  feet 
long  on  the  Kentucky  side.  The  Bridge  itself  consists  of  two 
spans,  each  775  feet  long,  riveted-steel  trusses. 

II. 

And  had  we  time  to  study  the  personnel  of  the  organization 
under  whose  management  this  vast  plant  lives,  moves,  and 
has  its  being,  we  should  have  seen  intelligence,  fitness,  loyalty, 
from  the  President  on  along  the  line  to  the  man  whose  nightly, 
lonely  vigil  makes  for  the  safety  of  our  traffic,  human  and 


10 


ADDRESS. 


material.  Automatic  Signals  have  flashed  before  and  behind  us, 
and  the  dream  of  George  Washington,  and  of  those  other  great 
dreamers  who  labored  for  the  realization  of  their  dreams,  often 
when  the  days  seemed  dark,  and  the  nights  were  white,  because 
of  doubts  and  fears,  and  forbidding  mountains  blocked  the 
path,  is  no  longer  a dream. 

Thus  I have  tried  to  give  you  a Bird’s-  Eye  view  of  our  Sys- 
tem, leaving  out  many  details  that  might  well  be  described. 

III. 

Behind  is  a story  of  a dream.  Further  back  began  the  story 
that  Nature  has  left  for  us  to  study,  if,  perchance,  we  can  read 
her  writing  in  Rocks  and  Rivers,  Canyons  and  Pene-Plains, 
majestic  and  slow  uplifting  of  vast  areas,  her  store-houses 
where,  for  our  use,  are  the  Coals  and  the  Oil  that  are  the  result 
of  the  work  of  ages  too  long  for  man  to  think.  Here  we  can 
see  how  New  River  has  eroded  its  way  through  the  Great  Con- 
glomerate Series,  the  Number  VII  of  Virginia’s  Great  Geol- 
ogist, William  B.  Rogers.  And  there  are  the  softer  measures; 
first  the  Greenbrier  Shales,  No.  XI,  and,  higher  up,  but  by  the 
great  north-westerly  dip  brought  beneath  us  as  we  descend  the 
River,  XIII  and  XIV,  the  “Lower  Productive  Measures,”  and 
the  “Lower  Barren  Measures.”  Those  who  love  to  play  the 
game  of  the  correlation  of  Measures,  find  pleasure  in  bringing 
to  this  region  the  words  “Clarion,”  “Freeport,”  and  “Kit- 
taning.”  But  “the  proof  of  the  pudding  is  in  the  chewing  of 
the  string.”  These  coals  go  into  Ovens  and  Furnaces  un- 
afraid of  the  test. 

Nature  is  indifferent  to  the  history  of  man.  She  wipes  away  his 
work,  so  that  later  generations  may  “strut  and  fret  their  little 
hour  upon  the  stage,  and  then  be  seen  no  more.”  None  of  us 
“make  history.”  He  who  writes  our  history,  makes  our  history, 
and  often  it  is  false.  Herodotus,  Thucydides,  Livy,  Caesar, 
Tacitus,  they,  and  their  followers,  have  made  our  history.  Even 
about  our  own  George  Washington  cluster  myths  and  fables. 

Emerson,  in  his  Essay  on  “Character,”  says: 

“We  cannot  find  the  smallest  part  of  the  personal 
weight  of  Washington  in  the  narrative  of  his  exploits.” 

Therefore,  it  pleases  me,  an  Engineer,  to  speak  of  him,  the  Sur- 
veyor, the  dreamer  of  the  wedding  of  the  waters  of  the  Chesa- 


THE  CHESAPEAKE  AND  OHIO  RAILWAY  COMPANY. 


11 


peake  with  those  that  flow  into  the  “Gulf  of  Florida,”  the  Sur- 
veyor, the  Soldier,  the  Statesman,  who,  when  he  passed  to  the 
quiet  of  his  home,  turned  his  thoughts  to  his  early  dream,  the 
welding  together  of  his  country  by  peaceful  measures. 

The  30th  day  of  October,  Anno  Domini  1753,  in  the  twenty- 
seventh  year  of  the  reign  of  his  Majesty,  George  the  Second, 
King  of  Great  Britain,  etc.,  etc.,  Robert  Dinwiddie,  Governor 
of  the  Colony  of  Virginia,  gave  to  George  Washington,  Esquire, 
a commission  instructing  him  to  proceed  to  Logs  town,  on  the 
Ohio  River,  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  information  as  to  the 
hostile  movements  of  the  French  forces  posted  there.  Wash- 
ington was  then  twenty-one  years  old. 

During  the  three  years  prior  to  this  commission,  Washington 
had  been  engaged  surveying  wild  lands  in  Western  Virginia 
claimed  by  Lord  Fairfax.  You  can  well  picture  the  dangers 
and  hardships  that  attended  this  task.  Later  came  Braddock’s 
Defeat,  and  the  Battle  of  “Great  Meadows.” 

In  1758,  Washington  resigned  his  commission  in  the  British 
Army,  and,  in  1759,  was  elected  a Member  of  the  House  of 
Burgesses  from  Fairfax  County. 

In  1770,  1772  and  1774,  he  made  several  tours  to  the  source 
of  the  Potomac  River,  looking  to  the  best  route  from  the  east 
to  the  navigable  western  waters.  His  life  as  a Surveyor  had 
already  carried  him  as  far  down  the  Ohio  River  as  the  mouth 
of  the  Big  Sandy.  Doubtless  with  the  prevision  that  often 
illumines  the  lonely  hours  of  the  Pioneer  he  saw,  as  in  a dream, 
the  way  opened  by  which  the  restless  men  and  women  of  the 
Tide-water  region  could  go  West. 

The  House  of  Burgesses,  in  October,  1765,  passed  an  Act 
providing : 

“For  the  clearing  the  great  falls  of  James  River, 
the  River  Chickahominy,  and  the  north  branch  of 
James  River.”  (Henning,  VIII;  Page  148.) 

The  names  of  those  appointed  “Trustees”  of  this  work  sound 
like  a roll-call  of  today  in  Virginia : 

“Peter  Randolph,  William  Byrd,  Esquires,  Archibald 
Cary  John  Fleming,  Richard  Adams, Robert  Bolling,  Jr., 
William  Cabell,  Richard  Carter  Nicholas,  John  Wayles, 
Samuel  Jordan,  and  Thomas  Bolling,  Gentlemen.” 


12 


ADDRESS. 


The  “Great  Falls’'  are  at  Richmond,  marking  severely  the 
line  between  the  Tidewater  Region,  the  latest  Geological  For- 
mation, and  the  Archaic,  that  sinks  to  a depth  of  nearly  2000 
feet  at  Old  Point.  Daily  the  pendulous  tide  rests  against  the 
Granite  of  the  Falls  before  it  turns  again  home.  Here  began 
the  work  that  would  some  day  link  the  East  with  the  West. 

In  February,  1772,  appear  two  Acts  of  the  House  of  Bur- 
gesses. One: 

“An  Act  for  opening  the  falls  of  James  River  by 
subscription,  and  for  other  purposes.”  (Henning 
VIII;  Page  564.) 

The  other : 

“An  Act  for  opening  and  extending  the  navigation  of 
the  Potowmack  from  Fort  Cumberland  to  Tide- 
Water.”  (Henning,  VIII;  Page  570.) 

Both  Acts  authorized  subscriptions,  but  the  “Potowmack” 
Act  authorized,  in  much  detail,  a “Lottery.” 

I call  the  roll  of  the  Managers  of  the  “Lottery,”  because,  but 
for  certain  of  these  church-going,  God-fearing,  law-abiding  citi- 
zens, Patriots  too,  I had  not  been  with  you  tonight : 

“William  Nelson,  Thomas  Nelson,  William  Byrd, 

John  Page,  Peyton  Randolph,  Robert  Carter  Nicholas, 
Richard  Bland,  Benjamin  Harrison  of  Berkeley,  Ben- 
jamin Walker,  Charles  Carter  of  Shirley,  Archibald 
Cary,  George  Wythe,  John  Blair  and  Patrick  Henry.” 
(Henning,  VIII;  Page  570.) 

Soon  these  gentlemen  were  to  take  a large  part  in  momentous 
deeds. 

The  Proceedings  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  June  5th,  1775, 
show  that  Mr.  Mercer  introduced  a Bill  for  the  establishment 
of: 

“A  Company  for  the  opening  and  extending  the 
navigation  of  the  River  Potowmack .” 


And  the  Bill  was  read  the  first  time. 


THE  CHESAPEAKE  AND  OHIO  RAILWAY  COMPANY. 


13 


These  Proceedings  also  show  that  Thomas  Nelson,  on  June 
20th,  1775,  submitted  a Bill  for  Services  by  certain  Surveyors  in 
connection  with  opening  the  Falls  of  James  River.  He  was  uncle 
of  the  Nelson  whose  name  is  part  of  our  Revolutionary  His- 
tory, whose  statue  stands  in  the  Capitol  Square,  at  Richmond. 
What  fine  dreamers  were  those  Fathers  of  our  Nation! 

The  plan  to  improve  the  navigation  of  the  “Potowmack” 
aroused  jealousy  and  hostility  in  the  central  part  of  the  Colony, 
with  the  result  that  steps  were  taken  for  the  waters  of  the 
James.  Maryland  was  to  co-operate  as  to  the  “Potowmack,” 
but  the  James  was  Virginia’s  own. 

Navigation  matters  gave  way  to  the  War.  But  when  Wash- 
ington became  a private  citizen,  his  mind  returned  to  his  early 
dream,  and,  until  called,  in  1789,  to  the  Presidency,  he  was 
active  in  this  work,  seeking  the  best  route  for  the  realization 
of  his  dream.  In  a long  letter,  dated  October  10th,  1784,  ad- 
dressed to  Benjamin  Harrison,  Governor  of  Virginia,  he  de- 
velops his  reasons  for  connecting  the  East  and  the  West  by  a 
great  highway.  His  reasons  are  political,  as  well  as  commercial. 
He  notes  that  “the  flanks  and  rears  of  the  United  States  are 
possessed  by  other  powers,  and  formidable  ones  too.”  He  fears 
the  allurements  of  Spain  for  the  Western  States,  that  “stand 
as  it  were  on  a point.  The  touch  of  a feather  would  turn  them 
any  way.”  He  foresaw  that  movement,  known  as  “The 
Spanish  Rebellion,”  that  stirred  Kentucky  so  as  to  awake  ani- 
mosities that  destroyed  friendships,  and  divided  households, 
even  after  Spain  and  France  no  longer  threatened  our  “flanks 
and  rears.” 

On  the  17th  of  May,  1785,  he  was  elected  the  first  President 
of  The  Potomac  Company,  and  took  an  active  part  in  its 
affairs  until  he  became  the  first  great  President  of  our  Country. 

His  letters  show  his  continued,  and  earnest  interest  in  the 
development  of  the  James  River  route  on  across  the  Appa- 
lachians to  the  Ohio. 

In  1784,  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia  passed  the  Act 
incorporating  the  James  River  Company,  to  whose  stock  the 
State  was  authorized  to  subscribe,  even  as  it  undertook  a sub- 
scription to  the  Potomac  Company. 

At  the  same  session  of  the  Assembly,  an  Act  was  passed 
directing  the  Treasurer  of  the  State  to  subscribe  in  the  Potomac 


14 


ADDRESS. 


Company  for  fifty  shares,  and  in  the  James  River  for  one  hun- 
dred shares,  these  to  be  vested  in  George  Washington,  Esquire, 
his  heirs  and  assigns,  forever.  The  preamble  to  the  Act  de- 
clares that  this  gift  was  in  recognition  of  the  “unexampled 
merits  of  George  Washington,  Esquire,  towards  his  Country,” 
and  that 

“Those  great  works  for  its  improvement,  which 
both  as  springing  from  the  liberty  which  he  has  been  so 
instrumental  in  establishing,  and,  as  encouraged  by  his 
patronage,  will  be  durable  monuments  also  of  the  grati- 
tude of  his  Country.” 

Washington,  in  a memorable  letter,  declined  the  gift  for  him- 
self, but  prayed  the  General  Assembly  to  permit  him 

“To  turn  the  destination  of  this  the  fund  vested  in 
me,  from  my  private  emoluments,  to  objects  of  a 
public  nature.” 

By  an  Act,  passed  in  1785,  this  prayer  was  granted. 

In  1795,  was  confirmed  the  appropriation  of  the  Potomac 
shares  to  “an  University  in  the  Federal  City,”  and  of  the  James 
River  shares  “to  a Seminary  * * * in  the  Upper  Country.” 

At  Lexington,  Virginia,  was  a Seminary  known  as  “Liberty 
Hall  Academy.”  The  students  of  this  school,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  Revolutionary  War,  enrolled  themselves  in  the  Army 
under  the  name  of  “The  Liberty  Hall  Volunteers.”  To  this 
Academy  the  James  River  shares  were  given,  and  became  the 
foundation  of  Washington  College,  now  Washington  & Lee 
University. 

It  is  worthy  of  mention  that  when  in  1861,  Virginia  called  for 
soldiers,  the  students  of  this  College  responded  with  a second 
“Liberty  Hall  Volunteers,”  and  bore  a brave  and  memorable 
part  in  the  “Stonewall  Brigade,”  fighting  from  First  Manassas 
to  the  End. 

One  of  their  Captains,  Given  B.  Strickler,  later  a distin- 
guished Doctor  of  Divinity,  was  my  class-mate.  He  led  his 
Company  up  the  heights  of  Gettysburg,  there  fell  wounded, 
and  became  a prisoner. 


THE  CHESAPEAKE  AND  OHIO  RAILWAY  COMPANY. 


15 


In  1812  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia  “appointed  Com- 
missioners to  survey  the  head  waters  of  James  River,  and  the 
Great  Kanawha,  to  ascertain  the  practicability  of  extending 
their  navigation  to  the  base  of  the  chain  of  mountains  that 
divide  them.”  The  Commissioners  named  were: 

John  Marshall, 

James  Breckenridge, 

William  Lewis, 

James  McDowell, 

William  Caruthers, 

Andrew  Alexander. 

The  report  of  this  survey  is  from  the  pen  of  the  “Honorable 
John  Marshall,”  the  Great  Chief  Justice,  expounder  of  the 
Constitution.  Before  me  is  a copy  of  the  Report,  printed  in 
1816.  Alexander  was  the  Surveyor  of  Rockbridge  County, 
Virginia.  Mr.  Earl  G.  Schwem,  the  able  Assistant  Librarian 
of  the  State,  says  that,  so  far  as  he  knows,  the  only  extant  copy 
of  Alexander’s  Map  that  accompanied  this  Report  is  in  the 
files  of  the  Virginia  Corporation  Commission,  and  is  dated  1814. 
It  was  engraved  by  James  Thackara  & Son,  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Academy  of  Fine  Arts.  This  survey  was  begun  September 
3rd,  1812,  and  was  completed  the  9th  of  October.  The  story 
of  the  survey  down  the  waters  of  the  Greenbrier  and  the  New 
River  reads  as  an  account  of  that  survey  of  1869,  when  I pulled 
a chain  down  the  rugged  banks  of  New  River. 

In  his  report  Mr.  Marshall  speaks  of  the  Mississippi  that 

“Empties  itself  into  the  Gulf  of  Florida,  which  is 
surrounded  by  foreign  territory.”  (See  Report,  1816 
Edition,  Page  35.) 

IV. 

Historically  linked  with  this  old  survey  is  the  trip  made  by 
Collis  P.  Huntington,  in  1869,  when  he,  in  company  with  Gen- 
eral Williams  Carter  Wickham,  then  President  of  the  Chesa- 
peake & Ohio  Railroad  Company,  went  in  a 60-foot  Batteau 
down  New  River  from  the  mouth  of  the  Greenbrier.  My  first 
Chief,  Major  Channing  Moore  Bolton,  and  others  were  with 
the  party.  Shortly  after  this,  Charles  Nordhoff,  the  well- 


16 


ADDRESS. 


known  publicist,  went  over  the  New  River  route,  prior  to  the 
completion  of  the  Railroad,  and  wrote  for  the  “Every  Saturday 
Magazine”  an  account  of  “The  Intermediate  Section  of  the 
Chesapeake  & Ohio  Railroad.”  His  article  appeared  illus- 
trated in  the  eleventh  volume  of  the  magazine. 

Thus  great  names  are  linked  with  this  Washington  dream. 
First  his  own,  then  the  great  Chief  Justice  enters.  And,  later, 
in  the  fullness  of  time,  comes  Collis  P.  Huntington,  fresh  from 
his  monumental  work  that  bound  the  East  and  the  West  by 
links  of  Iron,  induced  to  undertake  the  building  of  the  Ches- 
apeake & Ohio  by  General  Wickham,  veteran  and  brilliant 
leader  of  Cavalry  in  the  late  War,  who  bore  the  glistering  scars 
of  two  battle  wounds.  He  gave  me  my  first  work. 

I have  sometimes  thought  that  it  would  be  most  fitting  were 
there  placed  at  Lexington,  Virginia,  where  Washington’s  name 
is  spoken  daily,  if  not  hourly,  some  memorial  to  Collis  P.  Hunt- 
ington. He  it  was  who  dared  to  venture  on  this  great  work 
when  its  result,  as  seen  today,  was  unforeseen.  I know  how 
the  men  of  Virginia,  young  and  old,  found  in  his  work,  that  for 
which  they  longed,  an  opportunity  to  work.  Surely  Virginia 
would  welcome  at  her  seat  of  learning,  sacred  to  the  names  of 
her  two  great  sons,  a memorial  that  would  not  only  bring  in- 
creased helpfulness  to  the  young  men  who  gather  there  from 
many  places  for  knowledge,  but  also  dedicate  to  these  halls  of 
learning  the  name  of  a great  American.  Eloquent  and  death- 
less would  be  this  memorial.  Thus  do 

“Our  echoes  roll  from  soul  to  soul, 

And  live  forever  and  forever.” 

V 

We  now  pass  to  the  railroad  itself. 

In  March,  1832,  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia  incor- 
porated The  James  River  and  Kanawha  Company.  This  new 
Company  was  formed  to  complete  the  improvement  of  naviga- 
tion of  James  River,  and  to  connect  that  navigation  with  the 
navigation  of  the  Kanawha  River.  A railroad  was  authorized, 
and  then  followed  much  consideration  of  the  comparative  ad- 
vantages of  that  method  of  highway  and  of  a Canal.  Sharp 
differences  of  opinion  were  expressed,  and  no  railroad  construe- 


THE  CHESAPEAKE  AND  OHIO  RAILWAY  COMPANY. 


17 


tion  was  undertaken  by  the  Canal  Company.  Surveys  v/ere 
made  for  lines  of  railroad,  but  the  Company  was  loyal  to  its 
first  love;  the  slow,  safe,  water  route.  The  Reports  of  the 
Engineers  are  interesting,  to  show  their  careful  study  of  a 
question  almost  in  its  infancy. 

Meantime,  a line  of  railroad  had  been  constructed  from  Rich- 
mond to  Fredericksburg,  feeling  its  way  to  the  Potomac.  Not 
until  1872  was  the  line  completed  to  Washington. 

In  1836  was  incorporated  The  Louisa  Railroad  Company, 
parent  corporation  of  our  System.  Its  first  President  was  Col. 
Edmund  Fontaine.  The  very  name  brings  to  my  mind  the 
Huguenot,  elegant  and  princely  in  bearing,  brave,  courteous. 
Fie  gave  two  sons  to  die  in  battle.  This  was  succeeded  in  1850 
by  the  Virginia  Central  Railroad.  Among  the  incorporators, 
is  the  name  of  Captain  Thomas  Nelson,  my  father’s  father. 
The  route  set  forth  was  from  a point  on  the  line  of  the  Rich- 
mond, Fredericksburg  & Potomac  Railroad  to  a point  in  the 
County  of  Orange,  near  the  eastern  base  of  the  Southwest 
Mountains,  the  range  that  is  seen  on  the  west  between  Gor- 
donsville  and  Charlottesville.  The  road  was  headed  for  the 
western  region  of  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  and  the  waters  of  the 
Potomac.  Slowly  this  line  was  constructed  to  Gordonsville 
from  a junction  with  the  Fredericksburg  line  at  old  Hanover 
Junction,  now  called  Doswell.  The  old  name  is  preserved  in 
the  records  of  the  War  of  1861  to  1865.  The  present  name  is  a 
memorial  to  a household  honorably  connected  with  the  noblest 
Sport  of  Gentlemen  and  Kings.  With  that  name  are  linked 
“Planet”  and  “Fanny  Washington.” 

By  piecemeal  the  construction  went  on,  and  the  early  Wash- 
ington dream  turned  Virginia’s  thoughts  to  the  waters  of  the 
Kanawha.  The  first  purpose  of  its  road  was  changed  at  Gor- 
donsville, and  the  line  was  bent  sharply  westward  towards 
Charlottesville. 

For  a time  the  road  was  almost  a dependent  on  the  Freder- 
icksburg line,  but,  after  a fierce  contest  decided  by  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  an  extension  was  built  from  Han- 
over Junction  to  Richmond,  and  the  road  became  independent. 

The  State  subscribed  to  the  stock  of  the  Company,  and 
the  Board  of  Public  Works,  under  the  name  of  The  Blue  Ridge 
Railroad  Company,  actually  constructed  the  line  from  the 
eastern  to  the  western  base  of  the  Blue  Ridge  under  the  dis- 


18 


ADDRESS. 


tinguished  Engineer,  Colonel  Claudius  Crozet,  whose  name  is 
given  to  our  Blue  Ridge,  or  Rockfish  Gap,  Tunnel,  seven- 
eighths  of  a mile  long. 

Little  by  little  the  line  crept  westward  until  1861,  when  the 
War  found  it  in  operation  to  Jackson’s  River,  ten  miles  west 
of  what  is  now  Clifton  Forge,  the  western  junction  of  the  old 
and  new  lines.  Here  it  rested  until  the  close  of  the  W ar. 

Meantime  the  State  had  chartered  the  Covington  & Ohio 
Railroad,  to  build  westward  from  Covington,  Virginia,  to  the 
Ohio  River.  When  the  War  brought  activities  to  a close, 
much  work  had  been  done  through  the  heavy  Alleghany  region, 
and  some  work  on  the  far  western  end.  This  line  was  dis- 
tinctly a State  undertaking.  Therefore,  when  the  close  of  the 
War  found  Virginia  dismembered,  and  her  western  territory  a 
separate  State,  that  State  owned  what  in  its  borders  was  the 
Covington  & Ohio  Railroad. 

The  Virginia  line  found  itself  pitiably  dismantled  by  the  War. 
It  was  run  on  Pine-poles,  and  even  they  were  hard  to  get 
because  money  was  scarce.  Bridges  had  been  destroyed  by 
raids.  Rolling  stock  had  been  sequestered  by  the  invading 
Army.  All  seemed  gone  except  determination  and  hope. 

By  concurrent  Acts,  the  two  States  appointed  Commissioners 
to  revive  the  work  of  construction,  but  there  was  no  money  to 
meet  the  various  demands.  General  Wickham  had  become  the 
President  of  the  Company,  succeeding  Colonel  Fontaine.  He 
turned  to  Mr.  Huntington  for  help.  After  much  negotiation,  a 
contract  was  made  with  Mr.  Huntington  on  November  16th, 
1869,  for  the  completion  of  the  line  to  the  Ohio  River,  and  under 
this  contract,  the  connecting  rail  was  laid  January  29th,  1873. 

VI. 

For  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30th,  1915,  the  revenue  from 
freight  was  $31,288,536.62.  In  the  beginning,  and  for  years 
thereafter,  there  was  no  freight  to  yield  a revenue. 

For  the  same  fiscal  year  the  passenger  revenue  amounted  to 
$5,696,699.37.  In  the  beginning,  there  were  but  few  passen- 
gers to  be  carried. 

The  Coal  Mines,  whose  products  today  crowd  for  shipment 
East  and  West,  came  but  slowly  into  existence.  During  the 
fiscal  year  referred  to,  over  twenty-one  million  tons  of  Coal  and 


THE  CHESAPEAKE  AND  OHIO  RAILWAY  COMPANY. 


19 


Coke  passed  over  our  rails,  and  the  increase  still  goes  on,  until 
the  question  is  not  where  shall  we  find  our  freight,  but  how  shall 
we  handle  the  growing  traffic,  and  do  this  under  the  ever  in- 
creasing restrictions  of  State  and  Federal  regulations. 

I feel  as  one  wTho  saw  planted  the  little  grain  of  mustard  seed. 
It  is  with  much  of  wonder  that  I see  the  great  tree  of  today.  I 
think  with  admiration  of  those  who  have  taken  part  in  this 
stupendous  work,  of  their  courage,  foresight,  loyalty  to  their 
trust.  No  Balance  Sheet  has  ever  set  down  as  Cost  of  Property 
the  boldness  of  those  who  were  our  Pioneers.  In  this  work  has 
been  invested  not  merely  the  money  stated  in  the  Balance  Sheet, 
but,  also,  that  which  is  of  far  higher  value,  unrequited  brains, 
courage  and  fidelity.  And,  as  these  men  who  labored  when  the 
issue  was  not  assured  laid  down  their  trust,  they  all  did  so  with 
clean  hands.  And,  today,  those  who  have  succeeded  to  the 
trust,  have  hands  no  less  clean,  brains  no  less  fitted  for  the 
work,  courage  undaunted,  fidelity  worthy  of  the  great  trust. 

Should  not  our  “other  values  and  elements  of  value”  include 
something  not  found  in  the  formal  Balance  Sheet? 

In  1888  the  road  came  under  the  wing  of  the  Big  Four  System, 
and  Melville  E.  Ingalls,  whose  vigorous  ability  had  brought 
that  System  into  existence,  became  the  President  of  the  Chesa- 
peake & Ohio  Railway  Company.  He  wrote  his  name  large  in 
the  rapid  development  of  the  road  from  a single  track  to  a 
double  track  line.  Able  and  powerful  financial  support  made 
possible  the  proper  growth  of  what  is  now  not  merely  a line  of 
Railroad,  but  a prosperous  System. 

I will  not  burden  you  with  the  details  of  this  growth.  I have 
sought  to  give  you  but  a sketch  of  what  seems  to  me  a part  of 
myself.  It  is  a Story  that  might  fill  many  pages.  I invite  you 
to  come  and  see  for  yourselves  this  realization  of  the  dream  of 
the  Young  Surveyor. 

Let  me  speak  a tender  goodbye  to  the  old  Canal  on  James 
River.  Today,  in  the  work  of  Federal  Valuation  on  our  line, 
we  are  delving  into  the  ancient  records  of  the  Canal,  and  they 
are  a Story  in  themselves.  The  oldest  Land  record  harks  back 
to  1785,  an  “Inquisition.” 

In  1880,  The  Richmond  & Alleghany  Railroad  Company, 
under  the  authority  granted  by  Virginia,  acquired  all  of  the 
property  and  rights  of  the  Canal  Company,  and,  duly  as  author 


20 


ADDRESS. 


ized,  constructed  its  railroad  from  Richmond  to  Clifton  Forge. 
The  road-bed  used  was  largely  the  tow-path. 

In  1888,  the  Chesapeake  & Ohio  Railway  Company  acquired 
the  Richmond  & Alleghany  Railroad  Company,  and  in  due 
time,  merged  that  Company  into  the  corporate  System  of  the 
Chesapeake  & Ohio.  So  ended  the  Canal  as  a Public  Carrier. 

VII. 

Note,  I pray  you,  that  Washington  dreamt,  not  for  himself, 
but  for  the  good  of  his  Country,  of  his  fellow-citizens.  Even  so 
do  great  dreamers  sow  that  others  may  reap,  plant  that  others 
may  eat  fruit.  It  is  not  what  we  do,  but  what  we  purpose  with 
lofty  design  to  do,  that  exalts  us. 

“All  we  have  willed,  or  hoped  or  dreamed  of  good,  shall  exist.” 

I have  named  to  you  tonight  some  of  those  who  not  only  took 
part  in  the  great  work  that  brought  into  being  the  System 
spread  before  you,  but  also  sowed  the  seeds  of  Liberty  whose 
harvesting  is  ours,  if  we  are  faithful,  even  as  were  those  Fathers 
of  our  Nation,  and  if  we  do  not  suffer  ourselves  to  be  content 
with  our  boasted  progress.  Are  we  not  in  this  progress  destroy- 
ing, often  times,  rather  than  planting? 

Are  we  seized  with  the  purpose,  even  as  were  those  Fathers, 
that  for  those  who  come  after  us  the  Future  shall  not,  because 
of  fault  of  ours,  be  barren? 

Are  we  trying  to  squeeze  the  lemon  dry? 

“No  man  liveth  to  himself.  No  man  dieth  to  himself.” 

The  men  whose  dreams  I have  told  tonight  still  live,  and 
their  works  do  follow  them.  Surely  to  be  the  heirs  of  their 
labor  is  a splendid  heritage.  But  merely  to  be  their  heirs  is  not 
to  be  worthy  of  the  heritage.  What  will  we  do  with  it  ? Let  us 
hope,  yes,  let  us  trust,  let  us  know,  even  as  I believe,  that  those 
who  today  are  directing  the  present,  and  are  planning  for  the 
future  of  this  great  historic  System,  are  imbued  with  the  in- 
spiration that  comes  to  them  from  those  who  have  gone  before 
them,  and  that  of  each  of  these  shall  be  said,  even  as  it  is  said 
of  the  mighty  dead,-^“The  workman  not  ashamed  of  his 
work.” 


“Lo!  what  a cloud  of  witnesses  encompass  us  around.” 


THE  CHESAPEAKE  AND  OHIO  RAILWAY  COMPANY. 


21 


It  can  be  said  of  him,  called  to  be  the  Master  of  this  great 
System  since  February  1st,  1900: 

“One  who  never  turned  his  back,  but  marched  breast  forward; 

Never  doubted  clouds  would  break; 

Never  dreamed,  tho’  right  were  worsted,  wrong  would  triumph; 
Held  we  fall  to  rise,  are  baffled  to  fight  better; 

Sleep  but  to  wake.” 

As  I ponder  over  the  story  that  I have  told,  I think  not  so 
much  of  those  who  have  succeeded,  as  of  those  to  whom  it  was 
not  given  to  see  the  realization  of  their  dreams. 

“Sic  vos  non  vobis,  nidificatis  aves. 

Sic  vos  non  vobis,  vellera  fertis  oves. 

Sic  vos  non  vobis,  mellificatis  apes. 

Sic  vos  non  vobis,  fertis  aratra  boves.” — (Virgil.) 

“So  ye,  O birds!  build  nests,  not  for  yourselves. 

So  ye,  O flocks!  grow  fleeces,  not  for  yourselves. 

So  ye,  O bees!  make  honey,  not  for  yourselves. 

So  ye  bear  yokes,  O oxen!  not  for  yourselves.” 

First  must  come  the  splendid  dream.  Then  will  come  the 
realization  thereof.  What  if  the  realization  seems  far  with- 
drawn, beyond  our  sight  ? Shall  we  cease  to  dream,  to  have  the 
lofty  vision ?' Rather,  I say  to  you  young  men,  and  to  you,  also, 
men  of  an  older  day,  dream  on. 

“It  may  be  that  these  lofty  dreams  of  ours 
Are  the  rich  seeds 

That  shall,  in  some  new  land,  bloom  into  flowers 
Of  rich  deeds. 

“Nor  shall  it  be  that  time,  or  storm,  or  deep, 

Shall  wreck  the  silent  bark 
That  wafts  me  o’er  the  starless  sea  of  sleep 
Across  the  dark. 

“It  may  be  I shall  reach  some  happy  strand, 

Those  blessed  isles  deep  down  the  western  sea; 

Or,  haply,  that  hyperborean  land, 

Where  all  the  things  that  might  have  been  shall  be. 

“Then  wiser  than  before, 

Unblinded  by  Earth’s  haze, 

Like  tangled  ends  of  thread,  I shall  once  more 
Take  up  my  labors  of  those  yesterdays.” 

James  Poyntz  Nelson. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


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